When the circus came to Cape Cod

By Jim Coogan

Friday

Aug 31, 2018 at 10:21 AMAug 31, 2018 at 1:57 PM

In July of 1961, people driving to Hyannis were startled to see a large elephant at the old Route 132 traffic rotary in West Barnstable. On the way to setting up a three-ring event in Harwich, a big trailer for the Mills Brothers Circus Co. had overturned blocking the road. When a crane wasn’t available, Little Burma one of the featured animals in the show, was harnessed into pulling the truck upright. The whole thing took about a half hour before cars continued on their way.

Circuses were a part of the summer calendar of events on the Cape for more than a century until they faded in more recent times as the public turned to other forms of entertainment. In May of 1859, a local paper announced the coming of “Nixon & Company’s Mammoth Circus” which would perform in Yarmouth and later in Sandwich. In the weeks before the arrival, barns and fences were festooned with posters. “There will be a rush to Yarmouth next Monday from all sections of the county,” crowed the advertisement. For the rest of the 19th century and well into the 20th, traveling circuses typified the kind of small town summer entertainments seen in rural areas across America.

The coming of the circus was greeted with great excitement. Arriving by special train, often in the early hours of the morning, some of the animals were set out to graze in adjacent fields. In Hyannis, the horses and ponies were unloaded at Railroad Avenue near the depot. Elephants, giraffes, and camels were tethered off Camp Street. There was an old farmer who lived just over the Yarmouth line who had a drinking problem. His wife was always on him about it and would scold him. “Everett, if you keep it up, your brain is going to be addled. You’ll be having phantasms and seeing things that aren’t there.” One misty early August morning as he made his way to the outhouse, the old fellow thought he saw giraffes in a nearby field. Stunned and mindful of his wife’s admonition, he ran back into the house and it is said he never took a drink again in his entire life.

Generally, on the day of the show, the plan was to get the entourage ready to parade down through Hyannis starting at around 10 a.m. Brightly colored wagons, bands, tight wire performers, and a long assortment of animals headed down Main Street from Sherman Square to Park Square and then back to Ocean Street to the big fields at Dunbar’s Point. Local groups like the Rebecca Lodge and the Patrons of Husbandry had their own floats. Joining them would be the costumed Horribles with old fashioned buggies and old cars. But the main attraction was the circus performers. Acrobats, clowns, and skilled horse riders would showcase what people could expect to see under the big tent. There would be a show in the afternoon and another in the evening before the circus moved on to another town. For many, it was the high point of the summer.

My first circus experience was when I was about 10 years old. My parents dropped me at Mill Hill in West Yarmouth where there was a big tent set up next to the wrestling arena. It’s now the site of the Cove Resort. Back then the land was a wide and grassy plain above Mill Creek with enough room for quite a bit of parking. I paid my 50 cents and entered the tent which I recall smelled of sweat and recently spread sawdust and straw. There were bleachers set up inside and the acts performed in a center ring. I remember meeting one of the Maki brothers from Barnstable. I think it was Howard. He showed me around and told me not to miss the hoochy-koochy girls in one of the side tents. I wasn’t sure what it was all about but I was game to find out. When I located the tent there was a big curtain across the front and a lot of men standing outside. The barker told me I was too young to go in. It was quite a while after that when I finally realized why Howard was so eager to get me to see what was behind that curtain.

Jim Coogan is a Register columnist. Reach him at coogan206@comcast.net